21-year-old Mexican youth international Uriel Antuna left Europe to sign with MLS club LA Galaxy on a season-long loan from Manchester City, the American club announced Jan. 29.
.@mancity ➡️ @lagalaxy@AntunaUriel ➡️ Los Angeles pic.twitter.com/aDlLu5dBrT
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) January 29, 2019
The Santos Laguna academy product had been on loan at Dutch club FC Groningen for the past two seasons, where he never solidified himself in the first team’s lineup.
In the 2018-19 season, Antuna made just 10 appearances for Groningen in all competitions and was part of the starting 11 only twice.
In all, Antuna played 22 games for the Green-White Army and mostly suited up for their academy team, Jong FC Groningen.
At Galaxy, Antuna joins compatriots Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos and a familiar face in general manager Dennis te Kloese. The Dutchman was formerly the Director of National Teams for Mexico while Antuna impressed at the U-20 levels with El Tri.
Antuna made just one full appearance in Liga MX with Santos before he joined Manchester City after catching the English club’s attention at the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Tournament and the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Antuna was also a part of the 2018 Mexican Toulon Tournament team that finished as runners-up to England.
Antuna is the second Mexican player this month to return to the Western hemisphere from European leagues. Former Eintracht Frankfurt defender Carlos Salcedo made a contentious decision to return to Liga MX with Tigres UANL on Jan. 18.
How will Antuna do in MLS? Will he flourish with more playing time? Was it the right move for him to come back from Europe? Let us know in the comments below!
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